Investigating institutional counter-disinformation communications: A case study of the Russia-Ukraine war

Sophisticated foreign disinformation operations have become a key feature of modern military conflicts, whereby systematic information manipulation and disinformation play a leading role in the pursuit of military and geopolitical objectives, alongside conventional kinetic combat. Although state propaganda is not a novel concept, the dawn of the internet and the rise of social media has enabled malign actors to bypass legacy media platforms which once acted as the primary gatekeepers of political dialogue. The increasing frequency of foreign disinformation attacks has highlighted a key vulnerability of liberal democracies in the modern internet era, as foreign adversaries demonstrate their ability to pollute the information environment with false narratives in an attempt to influence public opinion and policy. Thus, there is a growing and urgent need to develop robust countermeasures which can effectively combat disinformation attacks.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been matched by a disinformation campaign of an unprecedented scale, directed not only at the people of Ukraine but also at many Western nations. The disinformation operation has sought to disincentivise international military and humanitarian support for Ukraine with English-language communications targeted at Western populations. However, despite being regarded as the information 'underdog' prior to the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian government's efforts to debunk Russian disinformation have been regarded as highly effective. Social media has represented a key platform through which the Ukrainian government has sought to dispel the information 'fog of war' and discredit Russian narratives. Therefore, the conflict represents a critical case study through which to understand the spread of disinformation and learn lessons about how unfolding disinformation campaigns can be rapidly rebuffed.
The aim of this research project is to understand how the Ukrainian government utilised strategic communications to combat the Kremlin's foreign disinformation operation during the first two years of the Russia-Ukraine war. This research will advance the disinformation literature by evaluating a real-world counter-disinformation strategy alongside findings from strategic communication research in order to contribute towards the development of evidence-based counter-disinformation measures. This research will utilise a longitudinal case study design to allow for an in-depth exploration of Ukrainian strategic communications over time, capturing the initial reactionary communications to the invasion as well as the consolidation of routines and tactics. This mixed-methods case study will assess several information sources including news articles and social media posts, as well as interviews with counter-disinformation experts on the frontline of the information war. The findings will contribute to the creation of a counter-disinformation response typology which can be utilised by government institutions and policymakers to develop strategy and policy for countering future foreign disinformation operations.